The Token
by Saunders2
Summary: [AU/AH] At the Olympian School for Proper Young Women, the Goddess girls are buzzing about the ball that is to be held in three days with the school's male counterpart. Well, everyone except for Annabeth Chase. She's more interested in the strange dreams she's been having about a black foal. And he's important, for he has the thing she needs most- her Token. ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1

**I'm new to this, so no flame por favor?**

**-Disclaimer: Pssh... ****_no._**

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**The Token: Chapter Uno**

Its beautiful black coat gleamed in the sun, looking almost blue it was so dark. The little foal whinnied at me and I laughed, taking only a second to think before chasing after it out into the pasture.

"What do they call you?" I asked the foal. It nickered, and maybe it told me its name, but I couldn't understand it. "Can I call you Freedom then?"

The foal dipped his head.

"So are you a boy or a girl?" I asked Freedom. The foal- Freedom, as I have named it- stood up to his full height. Freedom wasn't much taller than I, but it stared at me indignantly and puffed out its chest proudly. "So, you're a boy then?"

Freedom dipped 'his' head in what seemed to be agreement. I giggled at him and he nickered back, almost like when my daddy laughed. Shaking off that thought, I replaced it with another as he stood up on his hind legs like the big horses in movies did. Freedom waved his hooves in the air and _neigh_ed. I laughed- he was the most fun I've had all day!

"I've never been friends with a boy before," I told my new friend honestly. Freedom seemed to shrug in response, like he was saying "I've never been friends with a girl before". After a couple of seconds of just staring at each other, I decided I wanted to play a game with my new friend.

Running as fast as I could through the pasture, I shouted back at Freedom, "Catch me if you can!"

….

The sun was now finally setting on my birthday, when before it had been high above me and my friend. I stood rested against the big willow tree, the trunk bent just the way I needed it to be so that I could rest comfortably- this was my favorite spot.

Freedom folded his beautifully black legs to lay down beside me. His muzzle was very close to my face now, instead of inches above me, and I reached a hand out to stroke it. Petting Freedom was like petting velvet, soft and smooth. Freedom seemed to watch me with curiosity as I moved my hand to his cheek, patting the black fur softly. He nickered as I smiled up at him, and he moved his muzzle into my hair. Blowing out through his nose, he nuzzled my blonde hair. I giggled at the show of affection.

"Annabeth!" it was my step-mother's voice. I jumped at the sound of it and Freedom's ears pricked. "Annabeth, darling, where are you? I've told you not to go outside the gate without an instructor. Annabeth!"

My step-mother was slowly coming closer to me and I slowly got on my feet. She couldn't see us, but she would be able to soon.

"You're my very best friend," I told Freedom softly, kissing his cheek. Freedom brayed and nuzzled my cheek in response. "I won't forget you."

Stepping back, I came to the realization I might not see him again. Quickly, I lift my necklace from around my neck. The silver owl glinted in the low light, and it was one of the last pieces of my real mother I had left. I smiled as the gorgeous grey stone eyes glittered back at me and I slowly lifted it up and over Freedom's head. He nickered as it rested against his breastbone. I looked back up at him and his hazel eyes stared back at me, before they shifted color. The green of his eyes was more profound, like when the sun glanced off the small pond in my backyard.

"Now, you'll always remember me." I whispered. Freedom nods and I turn away, running in the direction of where my step-mother is calling me. But, just before I get to her waiting by an olive tree, I stop and wave back at Freedom.

Yet instead of seeing my black foal, I see a young boy with raven hair waving back at me. My stepmother grabs my waving hand and chides me about running off as she tugs me back in the direction of my house.

And I never saw Freedom again.

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I sit up in bed, trying desperately to catch the remnants of the dream. Something about a horse- a foal- and a young girl- me? Confused I shake my head and lay back down. I haven't seen head nor tail- no pun intended- of a horse since I was twelve. Which was six years ago. Really, I haven't see my farm since then either- no pasture, no riding, no nothing 'non-lady like' as the Madam of my school would put it.

"Get up, girls! It's a new day!" Piper walked in the room, smiling sympathetically at us. "Up, up, up! We're learning dance etiquette! Remember, we've got that big ball coming up."

Most of the girls get up at that. The male counterpart of our boarding school- The Olympian Academy for Civil Young Men- is joining us in three days for this ball that apparently will have a "huge" impact on our lives. Everyone in their last year here will have to attend- which is everyone in my flat.

"Annabeth, get on up and dressed. We have class in fifteen minutes." It's Silena's voice from the bed next to mine and I sigh. Rolling out of bed, I begin to undo the braids that kept my hair in all night. Walking over to my vanity, I see that my dress has been laid out for the day.

It's a simple white gown, with a gold sash around the middle. The sleeves are connected to the dress with a gold loop of metal, stretching out to cover my shoulder and then going to the back where it once again connects with a gold loop. The bottom is a breezy skirt that allows room for you to move.

"You look stunning, Annie!" Thalia giggles from behind me. I roll my eyes at her as I put my curly blonde hair up in a ponytail. Putting in the gold hoops they'd laid out next to my dress, I rummage in my closet for a pair of white converse.

I grin triumphantly, holding up the converse for Thalia see. She laughs as she pulls on her white button up and flowy black skirt. She pins her hair back with a golden barret that was given to her by her father. She hasn't seen him since.

That's the story of most girls here. Their father or mother somehow disappeared or died tragically or normally and left them with some trinket that they never let go. Like my mother when she gave me her owl pendant necklace. But I lost it and I've tried remembering where it went but it's seems like my brain just shuts down whenever I try.

"Let's go," I mumble tucking my bangs behind my ear and falling into step with the fifteen other girls.

In my flat, we are all eighteen. Everyone one of us has been here since we were young- twelve- and have never moved. Most of us, including me and Thalia, don't even leave for the summer. Just stay here in Uptown New York.

Of the fifteen of us here, I only talk to three of the girls. Piper, a pretty brunette who lost her mother in a freak car accident, Salena, a bright girly-girl whose mother ran off because she didn't want to stay with her father because he never paid her any kind of attention, and then Thalia- her brother attends the boy school and they both lost her father to an electrical fire. Piper, Silena, Thalia and I have been complaining about this ball- well, mostly Thalia and I. Piper and Silena have been pretty excited about it. Surprisingly.

"Girls!" Miss Hestia smiled sweetly at all of us as she moved throughout our ranks. "I want all the taller girls with someone shorter."

Grinning, Thalia looped her arm through mine. She pulled me towards the gleaming dance floor and we prepared ourselves to dance.

"I hate this," we mumbled to each other at the same time. Both of us giggled, but stood up straight when the music began to play.

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Friday rolled around, the day before the ball. And we were outside- thank heavens.

"I love it when they allow this," Silena said from my right, leaning back on her elbows and exposing her neck and chest to the sun. She was wearing a pale pink summer dress that went down to her knees and simple white flats. "I finally get to tan my super pale skin."

I laugh at her, but I enjoyed the warmth to. "Yeah, well there's barely any warmth to get you anything Silena."

She glared at me before going back to her to original task of basking in the rare warmth. Piper and Hazel were stretched out the way she was, eyes closed and letting the sun warm the skin. Thalia and I were sitting cross-legged next to them, playing poker- with chocolate.

"Girls!" there were loud claps as we turned our heads in the direction of the shout. Clusters of girls began to form neat, straight lines behind the four different mistresses- the mistress of the freshman group, the mistress of the apprentice group, the mistress of the novice group, and then the mistress of our group- the goddess group. We trudged down the hill we were sitting on to line up straight and be completely silent, looking up at Mistress Artemis.

"Heads straight girls, we're to head back to Mistress Hestia," most of the girls nod their confirmation, and we all keep silent. Our footsteps barely make a sound, even those in heels. Our hands are clasped in front of our dresses, polite smiles on our faces as we kept our focus straight ahead.

When we walked into the dance studio, there were all the teachers inside sitting next to long benches full of fabric.

"What's this?" the girl who asked was glaring angrily at some of the Mistresses, stringy brown hair up in a ponytail with a black dress that clung to her body tightly and a leather jacket over that. I'm pretty sure that the jacket was her token.

"Clarisse, you will speak to us respectfully," Madam Hera glared down Clarisse who glared right back. All the girls held their breath, unsure of what would happen.

"Yes madam," Clarisse finally backed down.

"Thank you, now," she straightened out her beautiful chiffon dress and cardigan. "Now, today we're here to figure out what will look best on you."

One girl raised her hand and Madam Hera nodded her head for her to ask her question. "Look best on us for what?"

"The ball," she said. That made the room burst into a bunch of excited giggles and exclamations. I rolled my eyes and picked at my fingernails. Thalia fiddled with a tassel on her dress.

"Now, I want Piper, Silena, Drew…" the girls were rattled off, each being assigned to a specific teacher. I knew who mine would be and waited for all the girls in Piper's group to be called.

"I now want Annabeth, Maria..." I nodded and stepped up, looking for the woman always dressed in red and gold. There she stood, with her stormy grey-blue eyes, in her red and gold floor length dress watching us with curious eyes. When she caught me watching her, she raised an eyebrow. I shrugged and she smiled at me.

Mistress Athena was a wonderful, witty and stubborn woman. She had rules, and she expected you to follow them, and when you did, you were well off. We normally had fun with her, hearing her stories of some of the other mistresses. The gossip we got made us laugh, but she made us promise to _never_ repeat any of them as she didn't want the other women to know we were hearing them.

The six or so of us walked in a single file line to Mistress Athena who smiled brightly at us all and stood up from her stool.

"Alright, you'll all have colors that will compliment you, but you must all have red or gold." all the girls nodded, while I stood in the back, arms crossed. "Annabeth, I have a few on top that I think are your size, will you come and pull them off so that we can get to the ones underneath?"

I nod and walk forward, pulling off the first four dresses. Sorting through them, I'm shocked to see that they _are_ all my size and that they should all fit and compliment me very well.

I pick out my two favorite, setting them aside as I fold the other two up neatly.

All the other girls chitter adamantly within their groups, as I hold up the two dresses. I see Thalia a little bit away with Madam Hera, working through some dresses. They both are wearing scowls and you can tell they don't want to be so close to each other- which means on opposites of the table. I giggle and see Thalia look up. When she meets my gaze, she glares at me for finding amusement in her situation.

"I hate you," she mouthes. I grin and laugh at her. She smiles before returning to Madam Hera.

"Have you chosen your dress?" Mistress Athena had walked up behind me, and I'd heard her, so I didn't jump when she asked me.

"Not exactly, Mistress." I say, pulling out the two different ones.

"Of course, may I see them?" she asks, gesturing to the dresses. I nod and give them to her, she places one on the table and holds the other one out. Her lips purse as she holds the dress to me, then she grabs the other and compares the color and what not. I stand there, tapping my fingers on my hip, trying to look like I'm concentrating. She hums, tapping her chin. I shift, but keep myself in her line of sight, changing the side my hand is on my hip.

Suddenly, Mistress Athena bursts into laughter as I blow my bangs out of my face.

"What?" I ask, confused at what's so funny.

"I've had you waiting here this entire time, seeing if you would keep still- and you did! I'm surprised with your patience." I blinked, surprised at the test. She grins approvingly, before pointing to the one on my left. "This one will do you the best."

I smiled as I set the other one down and folded it up, putting it with the other two.

"Alright!" Madam Hera's voice was tired, and unhappy. Thalia didn't look much better. However, the dress she held against her breast looked so beautiful against her pale hands, the fabric seeming to shimmer. "Now that you all have your dresses, we need you all to try them on so that we may see if there is any need of hemming. Now off with you." Everyone scuttled to the bathrooms at the other end of the dance room. You could very visibly see the irritation in Madam Hera, and her snappy voice confirmed it all. When Madam Hera was irritated, you'd better do what she says, or there'll be consequences.

I rushed into the pack of girls fleeing the room, falling into step beside an aggravated Thalia.

"I hate her," Thalia grumbled, shoving her black bangs out of her face.

"No ya don't," I teased. "You love her with all your heart."

"If that's a fancy way of saying I wish to see her burned at the stake, then I agree." my friend said, looking over at me.

"Say what you believe," I replied cheekily.

"You know what, I think I wouldn't mind you joining her." I bumped my friend with my hip, glaring at her playfully.

"No you wouldn't, you'd save me before they so much as approach me with the flame." Thalia sighed through her nose.

"Why do you have to be so smart?"

"Because my animal is the owl, _duh_." I retorted. I'd told Thalia all about my token that I'd lost. She'd felt bad for me, but I told her it was no biggie and she let the subject go.

"No wonder you're such an idiot," Thalia grinned at me.

"I hate you," I said, smacking her arm.

"No you don't," she retorted.

"Yes, I do."

"Nu-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Nu- uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Nu-" Thalia blinked, before bursting into laughter.

"Children," Piper came up beside us, giggling at the two of us. I laughed with Thalia and Silena joined us on Thalia's right.

When we reached the bathroom, we split up into the stalls. I shed my dress, letting the smooth fabric just fall off my body with the undone zipper. I stepped out of the fabric as it pooled at my feet and grabbed my ball dress. I pulled on the tight fitting gown and smiled as I felt it roll down, settling into place on my hips. I stepped out and smiled when I saw Piper. She wore a short dress, going just to her knee, but the shimmery sunset colored fabric of pinks and oranges made Piper look absolutely breathtaking.

"You look good, girl." I said, nodding my approval. I heard two lockers unlatch at the same time and turned to see Thalia and Silena.

Thalia wore an electric blue dress with black and white accents. It flowed down her body, the cut ending right at her knee before it splayed to her left side, ending just before it touched the floor. Her bright blue eyes shone brightly and she had never looked more beautifully, her black hair flowing down her back.

Silena was nothing short of a goddess. Her dress was a shimmery white and pale pink fabric, with a pink sash around the middle. It was a single shoulder dress, and the pink fabric brought out her skin tone and the pink in her cheeks.

"You all look so stunning," I tell them and they smiled their appreciation. But they aren't looking at themselves- they're looking at me.

"Annabeth, I think you should take a look in the mirror." Silena said breathlessly, her eyes trained on my dress. I suddenly felt uncomfortable as I turned to the full length mirror beside the sink. And when I saw myself, I gasped.

The dress was a red-gold color, like a burning flame. It had a gold underskirt that went down to my knees before the see through cloth traveled down my legs. It went out from the black sash around my waist, so that if I spun, it would fan out beautifully. The top of the dress was like a halter top shirt, coming up and around my neck. I slowly pulled my hair from my ponytail and let it fall down to my hips. Running a hand through it, my hair smoothed out and feel almost elegantly.

"Hun, that is a keeper." I heard Thalia whisper and I saw her come up behind me.

"Can you move back?" I replied quietly. "I wanna try something."

Thalia gave me an odd look for that, but backed up none the less. Slowly, I began to turn. I spun on the balls of my feet and I felt the dress leave my legs and the underskirt hug me tightly. Three gasps accompanied my act and I stopped. I felt the skirt fall back to my shins but I smiled happily.

I'd never felt so free and alive since- since- since- since Freedom.

Soft green eyes enter my mind, reminding me of the green of spring grass, or of that of a clear ocean at high noon.

Shaking off the memory, I turn to my friends. "You guys ready to go see what they think?"

Thalia immediately shook her head adamantly. "Oh my gosh, _no._ If I have to hear that woman say one more time that I should exercise more, I will kill myself."

Everyone bursts into laughter as we exit the bathroom to face each of our teachers.

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**So, what do you think? I'm sure this will only be a short, like a three maybe four chapters long. I'm not expecting it to be anything super amazing or anything.**

**I guess, just review. You've got that box at the bottom for it.**

**Kisses,**

**-Jo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Gracias for all the wonderful reviews! I'm so thankful for all the lovely responses I've received!**

**This is dedicated to **Tessie H.** who is absolutely wonderful.**

**(Sorry about the problem last time, I only just barely noticed it. Once again, ****perdone la desgracia****.)**

**No flames, por favor.**

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**The Token: Chapter Dos**

I awoke and the first thing that came to me was- it's the day of the ball.

Immediately, I sat up and reached to my night stand. I felt around for the lamp and my fingers were met with cold, intricate designs. Snatching it up, I used my other hand to turn on the lamp and I inspected the owl.

It glittered back at me brightly, the soft light making it look like thousand of crystals. The silver owl with it's shining grey stone eyes glittered back up at me. The gold chain on which the beautiful piece was hung made me smile brightly. As I was caressing the owl with my thumb, a pillow was thrown at my head.

"Dude!" I exclaimed, clutching the necklace to my chest as I pushed the pillow off my lap and glared at Jason Grace. "Seriously, man?"

"You turned the light on," Jason grumbled, glaring at me through half-lidded, dazed eyes. He was still halfway asleep.

"Yeah, well we will need to be getting up soon anyways." I retorted, glancing at my clock. Indeed, I was write- it was five minutes to six.

"Yeah, and I could've had those last precious minutes to catch a few z's." Jason sat up and rubbed his eyes like the five-year-old he was.

"Perce, man I love you and all, _but freaking turn the light off_," Grover grunted from the bed across from me.

"You bunch of girls," I snark in reply.

"Up and at 'em!" Leo trots into the room with the goofiest grin ever. He flicks the light switch on and every boy in my room groans. So, that would be Jason, Grover, Will, Beckendorf, Nico, Chris and maybe thirteen more. Yeah, that sounds about right.

Leo seems completely unaffected at the bunch of girls in the room as they all roll over to avoid the light. As if they're ostriches- if they can't see the light, then obviously it isn't six am.

I chuckle at my lame comparison and get out of bed. Slipping the owl necklace over my head, I hear it clank against my own token- my seashell. I rub my token before I slip off to the bathroom. There are six in this hall. Yeah, you heard me, six. And there are about eight more down the stairs. For twenty guys, you need a _lot _of bathrooms. Locking the door to make sure no one barged in here, I stripped out of my boxers and took off my own token. The shell is hung on a leather cord, which is worn and soft now. It's the thing I was given when I was three, by my father Poseidon. When I turned eight, my animal was given to me- a black stallion. But back then, I was just a little foal.

And that's where I got the owl necklace. That day, I'd run off from home and my disgusting step-father. When I was given the animal, I had no idea what the heck was happening, I just saw a black stallion- a faded, see-through, almost a mirage black stallion- run towards me. From there, I'd felt myself become the stallion and I'd run farther- where I ran into a girl who couldn't have been any older than I was. She was sitting on a fence, crying. From there, I'd come up to her and nuzzled her. I wasn't to sure I should change back to my human form, so I stayed as a horse. She'd been playful, cheering up when she met me. We'd played for a little while, until the sun was setting. From there, I'd heard her mother calling her.

"_Annabeth!" it was a woman's shout and the blonde girl looked up as I turned my attention on her shouts. "Annabeth, darling, where are you? I told you not to go outside the gate without an instructor. Annabeth!"_

_The girl- Annabeth- looked over to see the woman coming towards where we were. She stood up and glanced back at me, smiling softly. _

"_You're my very best friend," she said to me, kissing my cheek. I responded in turn with a bray, my attempt of telling her she was my best friend, too, and nuzzled her cheek with my muzzle. "I won't forget you."_

_When she stepped back, something like realization ran across her expression and sadness filled her gaze. But only for a split second, and then she pulled something from around her neck. When I saw it, I whinnied softly. It was a necklace with a silver owl glinting in the sunset's shimmer. I knew immediately that she was like me- she would be able to change into an animal to. Maybe it was an owl, like the pendant. She lifted the amulet over my head and let it fall onto my chest. Something, like water- or magic- resounded through my body from the necklace. I stared back at her and her grey gaze, I saw my eyes change color. From the hazel of my horse to my own green eyes._

"_Now," she whispered, "you'll always remember me." I dip my head in a nod and she turns away, running to meet the woman who called for her. The farther she got, the more of the magic crashed through me from the token. It slammed into my horse until I fell to my knees as myself. I stared at my hands and looked up to see Annabeth waving at me._

_I waved back and felt the amulet calm itself as I met her stormy grey eyes once more. Then her mother took her hand, and lead her home._

"Bro, get out of the shower." it was Will's voice, and I jump at the sound of it. Realizing that I spent my time thinking of Annabeth, I rinsed my hair out quickly and turned off the water. The cold and steamy air hit my warm wet body and I shivered. Pulling a towel off the rack, I wrapped it around my waist and grabbed my clothes.

Unlocking the door, I grinned at Will. "Sorry man. Got lost in my head."

Will glanced down at the owl and smiled. "Figures." then he walked past me and into the bathroom.

Not a lot of people here knew my story about the token. They knew it was from a girl, but other than that they didn't know the rest of it. Jason did, Leo did, Grover and Nico did. They were my closest friends and that's all of whom I wanted to know.

Walking back to my room, I saw that my clothes had already been set out. A loose cotton grey v-neck and black running shorts.

"Are your boys ready to run?" Hermes walked into the room, dressed in a loose green-neck and black running shorts.

All the boys, but me and Leo, groaned. We glanced at each other, glanced back at the boys, and burst into laughter. Hermes grinned at us, before turning on his heel and jogging out of the room. Leo and I followed behind him, leading the half asleep eighteen year olds outside to the surrounding forest.

Once Travis and Conner were well awake, they quickly surpassed Leo and I. However, the two of us kept at the same pace, leading the rest of the boys. The run was nice, the scenery peaceful and the cool morning air a nice smack in the face for those still waking up and cooling for those already hit and sweaty.

Two miles later, at seven am, we were back at the school, showering and redressing for the day. A dark green polo and nice jeans was what I wore when I went to breakfast. I sat down at a table with Jason, Grover, Leo, Will, Beckendorf and Nico, a bowl of blueberry oatmeal in front of me.

"Sup guys?" I greet them, slipping into an empty spot between Nico and Will.

"Nothing much," Beckendorf replied around a mouthful of banana.

"Gross dude," Will chided. "What would a girl think?"

Beckendorf rolled his eyes, but shut his mouth and swallowed. I laughed at them and gulping down half my glass of milk. I let out a breath when I was down, and burped. I burst into laughter, as did everyone else at the table. Except for Will- he just shook his head at us. Wiping my mouth, I drained a quarter of what was left in my cup into my bowl of oatmeal. Jason gave me a look as if I was deranged.

"You've been with me long enough to know I do this," I say shoving my spoon into the milk and oatmeal with a _slap._

"Doesn't make it any less gross," he mumbled, taking another bite of his toast. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a spoonful and ate it slowly, making sounds as I did just to make Jason even more disturbed. He shot me a glare before he grabbed his glass of water and threw it at me.

I swallowed and gasped, feeling the water drip from my hair. Glaring at the laughing blonde, I grabbed napkins and fixed up the mess. Jason glared when he saw that I hadn't gotten the slightest bit wet. I grinned back at him- it's sometimes nice to be son of the sea god.

Yes, _son of the sea god_. Gods do exist- the greek ones anyways. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades- you know those guys? They all exist. And just like in the olden times, they still go rampaging with mortals. My father fell in love with my mother, had me, blah, blah, blah, left because when the half-blood, or "professionally" demigod, turns 3, you have to leave them. Well, that's what the "big three" have to do. Because around the times gods normally leave their children- about five- we are already developing our powers, so around the ages eight and nine, we get our "animal". Every child of a god can turn into that god's sacred animal. So, like Jason, son of Zeus, he gets an eagle. For a child of, say, Dionysus, they get a leopard. If there _were_ any child of Hera, they'd all be vain peacocks. But don't tell the Queen of Heaven I said that. And for me? I'm a black stallion.

A whistle rang through the dining hall. All conversions ceased, everyone getting to their feet. I followed suit, getting up and placing my hands by my sides.

"Alright boys, today is the big day. Every kid under the age of eighteen will follow the schedule as per usual, so get your butts to class." Professor Hedge waited rather impatiently as all the boys seventeen and younger left the dining hall. There were many a fifty or so boys left in the room when the last of the youngins trickled out. "The rest of you, you have to look perfect for the ball. You are to start with haircuts, shavings, the whole she-bang. Nothing will be skipped, and you will all smell like perfect pansies by the time you're ready to dress and leave. I want all boys with names from A to H to follow Master Ares out the west door exit."

The buff man who was the training coach, for weapons, self-defense and army history, was standing by the west exit looking rather bored. He wore jeans, a white tee and a leather jacket. Ares, the god of war, looked like war itself with ripped muscles and a scowl that would kill you if ever directed on you. My least favorite of the gods.

Jason, Nico, Beckendorf left for that one, along with maybe five other young men.

"I now want J to R with Master Apollo at the north exit." I nodded to Will, Grover and Leo as I followed six other boys to Master Apollo, the guy in charge of the sun, music, and poetry. He taught English, creative writing, science and two music classes- guitar and the harp. The guy was pretty chill, but how he ever became the god of poetry is beyond me. Never, I repeat, _never_ ask him to tell you a poem. You will wish you had asked Ares to a swordfight.

Okay, maybe not that extreme, but you get my point.

Down three flights of stairs, turning so many different lefts and rights through who knows how many halls, all silently, can drive a guy crazy. Somehow, though, we all managed to keep ourselves silent and obedient. Not a single one of us did anything stupid, broke the silence, or broke a rule. Just walked behind Master Apollo.

Every once and a while, Apollo would glance back as if he wasn't sure we were still there. But who can really blame him? We're all so silent- I would be checking if I was still there if I didn't hear the gentle _tap_s of my feet against the hard wood floors.

"Okay boys," Apollo finally said as we stopped in front of a gleaming glass door. "Time for your teeth to be cleaned."

When Hedge meant the whole she-bang, he meant the _whole_ she-bang. We were going to get our braces off, our teeth done up to perfection so they gleamed as brightly as the sun- no pun intended- and then passed on to get our hair trimmed and styled.

Today, we all got to be girls. How wonderful..

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**I hope you guys enjoyed that. It was rather hard to get inside Percy's cabesa. But, I think it went well.**

**Please favorite, follow and review!**

**-Jo**


	3. Chapter 3

**This took me awhile, sorry. I hope you enjoy this chapter. There should only be uno more. So, yeah. Hope you like this, mi amigos.**

**-Dedicated to: **Tessie H **for her badgering to get me to finish is this.** i**Gracias, mi amiga!**

**-Disclaimer: Nope. Wish I did- or if I were Annabeth... *giggles***

**Review, favorite, follow- just no flames, por favor. Gracias for not doing so.**

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**The Token: Chapter Tres**

Five p.m. rolled around and I knew that this day was going to drag on _forever_. I'd gone through a mani-pedi, shavings, a spa- they got rid of every little trace of acne on my body, which was a little creepy- a two hour long shower to make sure that I smelled perfect and clean and what not, I had perfumes, make-up and jewelry picked out and I was now getting my hair done. At five-thirty, I would be venturing downstairs to get makeup done, perfume checked and jewelry adorned.

"So," Mistress Artemis spoke finally. The _snip snip_ of the scissor trimming my hair had been the only thing besides the whispered conversations and occasional bouts of laughter from the other girls in my group. "Are you excited about the ball?"

"Kind of," I respond, toying with my fingers as I feel the pull of the hair on my head lessen fractionally.

"Why only kind of?" she asks, combing through my hair. I watch her in the mirror and her dark blue eyes flit up to meet mine before going back to her task. "I'm sure you're excited to meet some boys after so long of being cooped up with girls."

"I'm actually not," I reply. "I'm more confused by the dream I had last night.'

Artemis and I were fairly close. She was one of the few teachers I really liked and we got along well; she was close to my age, about twenty. So, it was no surprise that we became a little more than acquaintances.

"What was this dream about?" she inquires, and pulls out her curling iron and turns it on.

"Well, there's this little girl, about eight I think, and she's just sitting there crying. I don't remember the reason why. But then this black foal comes up to her and they play with each other until sunset. Then, her mother comes out to get her and the little girl gives the horse this necklace that signifies the fact that she won't forget him. When she's running back to her mother, she decides to wave back at the horse and instead of the animal being there, it's a boy."

Artemis drops her scissors.

"A boy?" I nod as she picks up the instrument and puts it down on the counter. Grabbing the brush, she brushes it through and grabs the blowdryer from her black bag. Plugging it in and flicking the switch, it comes to life and I feel warm air run through my damp hair and down my neck and arms. As she pulls my hair through the brush while keeping the dryer close so that it can dry the pieces faster.

"Well," she begins again. "That certainly is an interesting dream."

"I guess so," I say, and we go back to silence. While she continue to dry off my hair, I think about her reaction to my dream. Almost as if she knew what it was about. But that's not possible, we don't have a great "dream interpreter" like that one guy is in the bible.

My mind trails off from what's going on around me and Artemis. It runs through the bible as I try to remember that dream interpreter and I don't think about the fact that she's started to style my hair. The tug of the brush on the bottom of my head and the fact that all my hair as now at my crown makes me return to reality as I remember the name- Joseph, the son of Jacob.

I look in the mirror to see Artemis tie my hair up in with a black elastic. She sighs, before her foot steps on a pedal underneath my seat and I lower so that she can do it. With that done, she reaches forward and grabs a piece of gold and red ribbon and ties it around the elastic, knotting it and letting it fall in loose coils down both sides of the ponytail.

"Done," she states. "You want to see?"

"Please?" she smiles at me before grabbing a big purple hand mirror and raising it above my hairstyle so that it reflects in the mirror in front of me. My hair is up in a simple ponytail, but my hair is slightly curled as it falls down to tickle the small of my back. The gold and red lights the faint red highlights in my hair and I smile.

"I'm sure all the girls are done," Athena walked in a with a clipboard. "I want you all to follow me so that we may finish up and be on our way by six thirty."

All nine of us jumped from our seats, thanked our stylist, and got in a quick and neat, single file line. Our hands behind our back, our back straight, our chins up and a smile on our faces, we followed Athena down the halls to our rooms. By ourselves, or with another, each of us peeled away from everyone else to our separate rooms. I was the last to leave, and before I enter my room, I gave Athena a quick curtsy. She smiled at me, I smiled back and entered my room.

It was buzzing with excitement, conversations and girls filling the room and making me feel claustrophobic.

"Are you Annabeth?" a woman in maybe in her mid-twenties asks me. Her brown hair is up in a tight bun at the back of her neck, her brown eyes taking me in quickly and seeming to make calculations. Her lips are pursed and her hands are on her hips.

"Yes, ma'am." I say. She sighs, before grabbing my wrist and dragging me into the chaos. We push through the crowd and make our way to my bed. It's the only place not crowded and I sigh as we make it to the small oasis.

My dress is laid across the bed, my earrings, necklace and bracelet all put where they would go on me. My shoes and stockings were on the bed beside my clothing.

"You ready to be perfection?" the brown haired woman asks. I shrug and she rolls her eyes at me before sitting me on the bed. She runs away and I'm left there, sitting and ready to run as soon as I was out.

When she comes back, her arms are laden with beauty products and whatnot.

How wonderful! Please, do note my sarcasm.

…

"Are you ready?" Thalia asks. She, Piper and Salena share the carriage with me. I shake my head and she and Piper laugh.

"Don't worry," Salena says comfortingly. "This will turn out just fine."

"I don't care about the turnout." I say, rolling my eyes. No, I'm just worried about what the boys will think of all of us girls- especially me.

Thalia looks absolutely stunning in her gown with knee high, lace up black combat boots. Her silver jewelry holds to her snuggly and are inlaid with beautiful clear blue gems, the same color as her eyes. Her hair is allowed to fall down her shoulders freely, in soft black waves while the fronts are pulled back with her gold token keeping it in the back. Little blue and white flowers are tied in with the front twists. Her makeup was light; glittering light blue eyeshadow, black eyeliner, mascara and pink lipgloss.

Salena looks breathtaking, as per usual. Her soft brown hair is pulled into a complicated looking bun, interlaced with pale pink flowers. A silvery white comb was tucked in with the pins that secured her hair. Her own gown looks even more beautiful with her white jewelry. Cherry blossoms hang from her choker like necklace to fall in her collarbone, her drop earrings also adorning them and the small white rope circlet also having one to fall in the middle of her forehead. The white sandals she wore glittered with small gems and her toes were also the color of cherry blossoms. Her nails were painted the same as her toes, but tiny little gems were on the tips of her fingers. Salena's make-up highlighted her most attractive features- her lips and baby blue eyes. Pink, silver and white was her eyeshadow, while her mascara was brown but displayed her blue eyes. Light blush and a tad of bronzer colored her cheeks, while her lips were lined with pink lipliner and the her lips were pinched and colored with pink lipstick.

Piper was simple, but beautiful as well. Her dress made her look like a goddess and her jean jacket that she wore everywhere went with it well. Her accessories were similar to Salena's, except for the fact that she wore a bracelet, an anklet, and converse a dark pink shade. The flowers that adorned Salena didn't adorn Piper's, instead the accents being dark pink english primroses. The makeup was also light, pink eyeshadow, a touch of blush and bronzer, brown mascara and pink lipgloss.

"Hun, stop comparing us to you," Salena chided me. I blushed as she had caught me looking over their dressup. "If anyone's doing comparisons, it's us to you."

Rolling my eyes, I sigh and look out the carriage window, ready to be out of here. Piper and Salena continue to chat while Thalia fiddles with her cellphone. The sun is making its way behind the mountains and high trees, turning the sky the same colors as Piper's dress, with purples and blues in it as well.

"We're here!" Salena and Piper squeal at the same time when the carriage lurches to a stop. Our coachman opens our door and gives me a hand out. I smile my thanks before grabbing my dress and lifting it off the ground. Thalia, Piper and Salena are right behind me and stare in awe at the place.

Carriages are coming up behind us, riding up the hill. We're at the top, where a great pine tree stands tall. Its needles seem to glow with health, and the branches are decorated with lights. But that isn't what has truly caught our attention- it's what's below us.

When the ground levels out, a great house, at least three stories and painted blue, stands tall. Beside it, a court with a net that seems to be what you would find instead on a beach. To the left of both of these structures are strawberry fields that glitter ruby red. From there, you can see a dark structure that, and from within glows cherry red and dark trails of smoke rise in the sky. My gaze finds two other structures as well, but I can't tell what they would hold. Tall white columns rise from beside of the rightmost structure and behind the forgery, that resembles a small arena. After that, there's a huge forest that stretches farther than I can see and hides anything else from my sight.

To the right of this, a column structure and underneath were stools and pedestals that reminds me of a class that some of the girls used to talk about- an art hall. A huge lake is behind this with a small structure beside it, most likely holding boats and the like to sail across with. To the left of the lake, is a long structure that might be bathrooms and showers for after falling in the lake, maybe. And there are rows of cabins beside that, some still in construction. Each are personalized and no two seem similar, but I can't see the detail so far away. Farther right, past the lake, is something that reminds me of an open air theater, like of which Shakespeare used to have his plays performed, with long, concave benches in a semicircle around the stage. Behind that is a huge form that I can't even tell what it is, and then a huge open air place that is glowing brightly and is filled with people. Past that, there are people milling around on a beach where the water glitters with the sunset's reflection.

"It's like a summer camp," Thalia whispers to me.

"I hope we're not staying here," there's no distaste in Salena's voice, just a yearning for a proper bed when the night's over. Not the bunks that are most likely in the cabins.

"If we're staying here until past midnight, I hope we are," I say, before I begin the long trek down the hill. The girls follow behind me.

When we reach the place where the life of the party is, I realize why- it's long tables of food. Laughing at the revelation, the four of us split up to grab a bite to eat.

As I sit there at the edges, I survey what's going on around me. Piper is blushing and fiddling with a stray hair as a guy that reminds me a little of Thalia talks to her. Speaking of which, Thalia walks up behind him and claps him on the shoulder. They talk a little and I conclude that the boy must be Thalia's brother, Jason. He's good looking, I guess, with ruffled blonde hair and a strong face. His blue eyes are like Thalia's, a striking shade of blue. He's solidly built, and he wears a fitting outfit- black slacks, a white ruffled shirt and a black tie with a black suit jacket. He's done up well, and attractive, but not really my type. Not that I really know what my type is either.

Rolling my eyes, I search for Salena to see her blushing. Wondering what could make her so giddy, I see a tall, dark and rugged looking guy. He's also dressed up in black slacks, but his shirt is simple, but hugs him tightly and shows off defined muscles. He wears no jacket, and his arms bulge that have Salena batting an eye. Even the boy seems a little awed, but who doesn't when it comes to her?

I shake my head and return to just looking around the party now that I've located all my friends.

"Did you see him?" I look over to see a gorgeous girl blushing. She seems to be talking to me.

"See who?" I ask.

"_Percy_," she giggles. "He was talking to me, but was so distracted. I wish I could no more than his name. Oh- I'm sorry. I'm Calypso."

I shake my head at her flighty-ness and instead introduce myself. "I'm Annabeth."

"Nice to meet you," she says. "Can I sit here?" she gestures to the empty bench beside me. I shrug and scoot over to make more space for her.

"Are you enjoying the party?" she asks, her eyes the color of almonds looking over the tables and crowds.

"In a fashion," I state, smoothing out my dress.

She tries again, "Are there any guys here that catch your eye?"

"Not really."

She huffs. "You're not making it this very easy on me."

I laugh and she grins, as if my smile is what she wants. "I'm not an easy person."

"I've noticed," we both break into laughter.

"Isn't this a merry company," our laughter dies down so that we can actually talk to the person. It's a boy, maybe an inch or so taller than me and Calypso. He's got unruly black hair and warm brown eyes. He's scrawny, but has light muscle definition in his arms and callouses on his hands. His suit jacket is laid over his arm, his shirt rolled up to his biceps.

"Where'd you come from kid?" Calypso teases.

He glares at her before sitting beside her and I know exactly where they would be heading.

"I'm Leo Valdez, darling," he says, bumping her with his shoulder. Calypso pushes him away playfully and introduces herself.

I shake my head at the two, before getting up to leave. Calypso must have heard me, because she turns to face me.

"Oh, don't leave!" she says quickly.

I smile at her reassuringly, glancing at Leo. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'm just making sure I don't stop the two of you."

Leo grins while Calypso flushes bright red. I give her a wicked grin before walking away. Laughter echoes from behind me.

I head to the beach, wanting to smell the salty air and feel the cool wind coming off the water. When I reach the sand, I sit down and pull off my gold sandal heel things and let my toes sink into the warm sand. Sighing happily, I stand up to trail the beach.

"The moon looks beautiful on the water, doesn't it?" I look to see a handsome guy several inches taller than me smiling at me. I smile back and he returns his attention to the sea.

"It does," I reply, before joining him to stare at the ocean. It glitters like a million diamonds and ripples the image of the moon that rises higher and higher in the sky. "Can I get a name?"

"Sure," the boy says, shooting me a smile. "Perseus Jackson."

"Perseus?" I ask, curious. "Like the greek hero?"

He nods. "I prefer Percy for just that reason." I laugh and he grins at me. "How about you?"

Rolling my eyes, "Annabeth Chase."

"Annabeth?" he stares at me in surprise. "Your name's Annabeth?"

I nod, curious as to why he's reacting like this. Hoping to break the sudden tension, I say, "Yeah, and don't call me Annie. I'm not four."

"No," he breathes out. "You were eight."

"What do you mean I was eight?" I inquire. This guy is starting to freak me out.

"Annabeth," he starts, "Do you remember me at all?"

I shake my head slowly, confused and turn to meet his-

His eyes are the color of the glittering sea before us, framed by black lashes. I don't know, but I know those eyes. I know him. And yet I don't.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I feel like I should, but I don't."

A smile begins to pull at the corners of his mouth. "Then maybe this will jog your memory."

He pulls away from me, before reaching underneath his shirt and pulling out a seashell worn on a leather strip. He rubs it with his thumb and, in a flash of silver, blue and green sparks, he's gone and replaced by a beautiful black stallion.

"F-Freedom?" I stutter.


	4. Sorry

This is a goodbye. For a really long time.

There's a lot of good stuff. Stuff with a lot of potential... but I can't do it. We can't do it.

If you haven't noticed, we haven't updated in a while. We both thought about it. But this is it. I'll leave this stuff up, but it's never getting updated. I'm sorry.

Maybe things will change. But... expect it on a new account.


End file.
